


destinies manipulated

by sunkelles



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Episode: s03e14 A Tale of Two Sisters, F/F, Femslash, Femslash Feburary, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22643374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunkelles/pseuds/sunkelles
Summary: “Really,” Cassandra accuses, “the one mirror showing that mother- my mother- had even a shred of affection for me, and it just happens to wind up in your bag?” Rapunzel’s eyebrows fall into a frown, and Cassandra can read the disappointment on Rapunzel's face. She thought that she was going to trick Cassandra into going back with her, and that she'd go back to being the happy little lady in waiting- serving Rapunzel with a love-struck grin on her face. She feels sick as she realizes how close she came to being manipulated. Cassandra loved Rapunzel once, but she's never going to do that again.
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 71





	destinies manipulated

**Author's Note:**

> i watched the new episode today and had feelings, so i decided to write some angst

This day that they've spent trapped together has been almost... nice. It's made Cassandra remember exactly _why_ she loved Rapunzel, once upon a time. She almost wants to go with her- to talk to her, at least. Maybe Raps would understand.

Maybe it would be worth trying.

But then, Cassandra sees a mirror peaking out from Rapunzel’s bag, and her heart stops in her chest. It looks just like the mark on the wall where Gothel’s missing mirror was. Cassandra reaches into Rapunzel’s bag and plucks it out. 

“The missing mirror,” she says, holding it gently in her hands, “you took it?” Rapunzel’s eyes widen, and she puts her hands up in front of her, shaking them frantically. 

“What? No!” she says, shaking her head, “I have no idea how that got in my bag.” Cassandra holds the mirror, gently touching the glass. The reflective surface swirls a bright, glowing blue and she watches her old cottage, her mother, and her younger self appear clearly in the cracked screen. She’s standing beside her mother, Gothel winding up her treasured music box. Her tone is soft and affectionate as her mother tells Cassandra that every time she hears this tune, Cassandra should remember the love that her mother holds for her.

The tiny Cassandra wraps her arms around her mother like a leech, saying “I love you, mama” in that squeaky little child voice of hers. The scene cuts out, the mirror becoming a mirror once again. All Cassandra is left with is the look of shock on her face, bright blue eyes and hair glowing back at her. 

Her mother _loved_ her, once. Before Rapunzel, she was _loved._ The realization feels like acid settling in her stomach. 

“Cass,” Rapunzel says, snapping her out of that shock, “I have _never_ seen that.” 

“Really,” Cassandra accuses, “the one mirror showing that mother- _my_ mother- had even a shred of affection for me, and it just happens to wind up in your bag?” Rapunzel’s eyebrows fall into a frown, and Cassandra can read the disappointment on Rapunzel's face. She thought that she was going to trick Cassandra into going back with her, and that she'd go back to being the happy little lady in waiting- serving Rapunzel with a love-struck grin on her face. She feels sick as she realizes how close she came to being manipulated. Cassandra loved Rapunzel once, but she's _never_ going to do that again.

Cass pushes Rapunzel forward and growls, “Out of my way.” 

“Cass,” Rapunzel says, but Cassandra doesn’t listen. She holds out her hand, growing a patch of stones to clear away the wreckage. Cassandra walks through the exit that she’s made and turns around to glare at the woman she once loved. 

“Goodbye, Rapunzel,” she spits. Then, she calls back her rocks and lets the boulders that blocked the exit fall back down.

“What? No!” Rapunzel shouts, “no, Cass!” Cassandra turns back for a moment. She knows that the mole is circling the inside of the chasm right now, and that Rapunzel could be in danger. But the sting of betrayal is still too fresh for her to worry about that. She turns back, and lets the rocks remain. 

Rapunzel is a good fighter, anyway, Cassandra thinks bitterly. It’s not like she _needs_ her help to get out of this alive. Rapunzel’s never needed anything from her, just an unappreciated servant with an unrequited love- a footnote in a life of greatness and renown. Cassandra isn’t hurting the great princess of Corona by letting her struggle through this a little. 

Rapunzel took Gothel’s love, after all. Hoarded it all to herself in her tower and then killed her so that there would never be any left. Then, she took the evidence that Gothel might have loved _Cassandra_ too, once. She feels her rage boil, and it hasn’t subsided by the time that she gets back to her _own_ tower. 

Her friend grins as Cassandra relays the information that she's learned, and she promises Cassandra that she will have everything that she’s ever wanted. Cassandra can’t have a mother’s love, or the respect and affection of the woman that she used to love. But she can have a _destiny,_ a power enough to rock the heavens, and she’s going to clutch onto that as hard as she can until she feels like she finally has something worthwhile.


End file.
